A month after the quake, literary figure Yu Qiuyu penned the essay "A Tearful Request for the Earthquake Survivors" (含泪劝告请愿灾民), in which he implored parents to stop their protests. He suggested the parents were being used by those with "ulterior motives" and by "anti-Chinese forces." Many netizens accused Yu of trying to protect the corrupt politicians and contractors whose greed and negligence had led to so many deaths. Some "tearfully urged Yu Qiuyu to jump in a river" (含泪劝告余秋雨去投江).

Artist Ai Weiwei lead an effort to collect the names of the schoolchildren, resulting in the performance piece "Commemoration." He and the volunteers who came with him to Sichuan faced police harassment. The activist Tan Zuoren served a five-year sentence for "inciting subversion of state power" after he tried to compile a list of the children's names.